AI risk expert and UC Berkeley professor Stuart Russell’s recent podcast appearance has fanned the fire surrounding job uncertainty in the age of artificial intelligence.
During an episode of ‘Diary of a CEO’ podcast, the co-author of the book “Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach” said that AI has taken over nearly everything we views as professional work. Inflating the fears tied to layoffs and job cuts, he further suggested that seats of higher executive or CEOs may be snatched by the ever-evolving technological affair in the future as well.
Top expert on AI replacing nearly every professional role
He further suggested that AI companies are playing “Russian roulette” with people’s lives without seeking their consent. The US university professor believes that all the companies racing after the AI boom simply care about attaining riches and have little to no care for human life.
“They’re coming into out houses, putting a gun to the head of our children, pulling the trigger, he said on the podcast. At another point, Russell noted, “Anything you might aspire to — you want to become a surgeon — it takes the robot seven seconds to learn how to be a surgeon that’s better than any human being.”
Presenting a dystopian fantasy, he pictured a scene, “Pity the poor CEO whose board says – unless you hand over your decision-making to the AI system, we’ll have o fire you because competitors with AI-powered CEOs are doing much better.”
Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s AI warning
If the hypothetical were to turn into reality, one such real-life CEO whose job would swallowed up is Google boss Sundar Pichai. The Indian-origin tech leader appears to have long accepted the potential nightmare.
In an recent interview, he highlighted that if one didn’t adapt according to the currently growing AI landscape, getting left behind would be easier than ever. “AI is the most profound technology humanity is ever working on, and it has potential for extraordinary benefits, and we will have to work through societal disruption,” he told the BBC.
“It will evolve and transition certain jobs,” he added. “People will need to adapt, and then there will be areas where it will impact some jobs. So, as a society, I think we need to be having those conversations.”
Pichai further foregrounded during the interview that his own role as a CEO was “one of the easier things” for AI to potentially take over. Suggesting that only those embrace the age of AI will be the ones to succeed, he told the BBC, “I think people who learn to adopt and adapt to AI will do better.”
“It doesn’t matter whether you want to be a teacher, a doctor—all those professions will be around, but the people who will do well in each of those professions are people who learn how to use these tools.”